Student Senator Being Asked To Resign For Supporting Donald Trump

“We do not support bigotry or hatred or the messages spread by Donald Trump’s ignorance.”

A student-body political coalition swept a recent election at the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga (UTC) and is now calling for the resignation of a senator because of her open support of Donald Trump.

Hailey Puckett, the senator in question, participated in a chalking campaign on her campus during which she and her peers scrawled pro-Trump messages on the sidewalks of UTC’s campus.

“Super proud of our art work, but I have a feeling half of UTC’s campus is gonna hate it,” she posted to her Twitter, predicting her future doom.

In response, a group known as “Empower UTC” issued a statement calling for Puckett’s removal from her student government position.

“Tonight we’ve asked for Hailey Puckett’s resignation from SGA because we realize that her values do not line up with the pillars we’ve established ourselves on. We do not support bigotry or hatred or the messages spread by Donald Trump’s ignorance,” Empower UTC posted to its Twitter page.

Notably, several members of Empower UTC campaigned for seats on the student government, including the position of president, and won.

The new student-body president, Phillip Stubblefield, later tweeted Empower UTC’s call for Puckett’s resignation, expressing his support for the motion.

“We do not support the mission of those who wish to spread that ignorance. We do not support those who bask in that ignorance. We promised to represent you, and by you we mean everyone,” the statement continues.

But writers of the statement then make an exception to their rule, saying they are not required to represent Trump supporters and even ask their fellow students to refrain from forgiving Puckett.

“We will not, however, represent those who support the oppression of others. We do not ask that you forgive or forget her actions, but that you start conversations,” writers of the statement said before adding, “We ask that you spread messages of love and inclusion to everyone you encounter.”

Stubblefield’s vice president and treasurer also expressed their support for Puckett’s impeachment on twitter.

UTC’s student government released a statement Wednesday stating that it would not entertain calls for Puckett’s resignation.

“To clarify confusion regarding the call for resignation of a newly elected senator, the UTC SGA has not asked the senator-elect to resign from next year’s 2016-2017 senate,” the student government wrote in its statement.

Campus Reform reached out to Stubblefield to ask if he thinks it is right to call for the resignation of a senator solely because of her political views but no response was received in time for publication.